Foreign investors may establish any of the following
corporate forms in Cyprus:

 

Private limited liability company  

 

This is the form historically taken by almost all companies in Cyprus, whether for domestic purposes or for international structuring.

 

The relevant legislation is the Cyprus Companies Law, which is virtually a copy of the British Companies Act of 1948.

These are the main characteristics and requirements attaching to private limited liability companies: the liability of its members is limited to the amount paid for their subscribed shares; the right to transfer the shares is restricted; the word “limited” must appear at the end of the name of the company; the minimum number of members is one and the maximum number is fifty; shares cannot be issued to the bearer; the minimum number for directors is one and there is no maximum – directors may be local or foreign; local nominee directors may also be used; corporate entities may act as directors or secretaries; meetings of the board of directors can be held either in Cyprus or abroad; statutory and reporting requirement are very similar to those of the British Companies Act 1948; bank accounts of any kind may be opened, in any currency, either in Cyprus or abroad – those opened in Cyprus may be operated without any exchange control permission; annual returns must be filed with the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver, at the end of each financial year; the company's file at this Registrar of Companies is available for inspection by the public.

 

Branch of a company incorporated overseas

 

This corporate form is governed by the Companies Law Chapter of 1951 and provides for the registration in Cyprus of foreign corporate entities under the legal form of a branch.

 

Any overseas company may register a branch in Cyprus. The procedure followed is identical to that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and is quite straight-forward.

 

International trust

 

The advantages of using an international trust for regulating family and commercial affairs are well known to those accustomed with the British common law system.

 

It appears that the international trust concept is also becoming popular with people familiar with civil law jurisdictions and it is expected that the use of international trusts will be further increased in the (near) future.

 

Cyprus, as an expanding financial centre, has shown so far that it may become a considerable trust jurisdiction. This is also due to the fact that a Cyprus trust may in certain cases be used to obtain the benefit of an applicable double tax treaty or provide asset protection where this is required.

 

BK (Cyprus) Limited does not render international trust services (as defined under current trust legislation in Cyprus). However, it can refer to and liaise with various international trust services providers in Cyprus.